One-time-use insulating container

ABSTRACT

A disposable insulating container is disclosed in which a container body and a container bottom face are formed in a body and in which folds in the vertical direction are formed in a body on the outside surface of the container body in a tapered disposable container whose upper side is wide and lower side is narrow. When a beverage, such as hot coffee, is placed in the container, direct conduction of heat to the hand that holds the container is shielded, so that the hot beverage can be safely and simply drunk without a separate member. Also, there is an insulation effect for preventing the discharge of the temperature of the beverage in the container to the outside, so that the temperature and taste of the beverage can be maintained for a long time.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 or 365 to Republicof Korea, Application No. 2007-0015397, filed Sep. 14, 2007. The entireteachings of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to a disposable container. Morespecifically, the present invention pertains to a disposable insulatingcontainer that can be completely held by hand and used for drinkingwithout a separate member when drinking a hot beverage such as coffee ortea.

BACKGROUND

With various kinds of teas and coffee becoming favorite beverages, manyautomatic vending machines have been supplied so that these beveragescan be easily drunk, and many take-out specialty stores have opened. Ingeneral, disposable containers are used as containers used for drinkingthat hold these beverages, and the number of such containers being usedhas increased greatly.

In conventional disposable containers, only a paper sheet is rolled toform a cup. When a beverage, such as hot coffee, that is 95° C. orhotter is put into the cup, the heat is directly conducted to the handthat holds the container, potentially causing one to spill the beveragedue to the shock. As a result, the human body is burnt, or a hand orclothing is soiled. Also, the temperature of the beverage in thecontainer is not maintained for a long time.

Recently, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a componenthaving an insulation effect has been developed. However, this componentis a insulating member that is attached to the inside or outside of acontainer. The insulating member is separated as a result of hightemperature, and the insulating member must be attached by a separateprocess. Thus, the production process is complicated, and the productcost is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentionedproblems, and its purpose is to provide a disposable insulatingcontainer in which a container body and a container bottom face areformed in a body and in which folds in the vertical direction are formedin a body on the outside surface of the container body in a tapereddisposable container whose upper side is wide and lower side is narrow.Thus, when a beverage, such as hot coffee, is placed in it, the directconduction of heat to the hand that holds the container is shielded, sothat the burning of the human body or the soiling of a hand or clothingas a result of spilling of the hot beverage is prevented. Thereby, thehot beverage can be safely and simply drunk, while the temperature ofthe beverage in the container can be maintained for a long time.

Embodiments of the present invention are characterized by the fact thatin a tapered disposable container whose upper side is wide and lowerside is narrow, a container body and a container bottom face are formedin a body; and folds in the vertical direction are formed in a body onthe outside surface of the above-mentioned container body.

Also, further embodiments of the present invention are characterized bythe fact that the above-mentioned folds in the vertical direction areformed in a body in only part of the upper side of the outside surfaceof the above-mentioned container body.

Additionally, still further embodiments of the present invention arecharacterized by the fact that in the above-mentioned folds in thevertical direction, cross sections with a shape having ridges andvalleys are continuously and adjacently formed in a ring shape.

According to the disposable insulating container of the presentinvention, when a beverage such as coffee is placed in it, directconduction of heat to the hand that holds the container is shielded, sothat burning of the human body or the soiling of a hand or cloth due tospilling of the hot beverage is prevented. As a result, the hot beveragecan be safely and simply drunk, while the temperature of the beverage inthe container can be maintained for a long time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tothe same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is an oblique view showing a disposable insulating containeraccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a disposable insulating containeraccording to the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a disposable insulating containeraccording to the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing a disposable insulating containeraccording to the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of A-A′ line of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating, in cross section, a plurality ofalternating protrusions and gaps forming a ring shape defined by thefolds according to the embodiment of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is explained as follows in detail referring to theattached figures.

As shown in FIGS. 1-5 in a tapered disposable container 1 whose upperside is wide and lower side is narrow, a container body 2 and acontainer bottom face 3 are formed in a body, and folds 4 in thevertical direction are formed in a body on the outside surface of theabove-mentioned container body.

With this constitution, the above-mentioned container body 2 and theabove-mentioned container bottom face 3 are formed in a body bycompression-molding a composition as the material of the container, soas to prevent leakage of a beverage from a gap between the body and thebottom face of the container, and the problem of an insulatingseparating member due to high temperature can be solved.

Also, in take-out specialty stores, generally, thick paper is insertedinto a disposable cup, and a beverage is placed in the cup. However,embodiments of the present invention can remove this complication orinconvenience. In other words, the protrusions formed by theabove-mentioned folds in the vertical direction disperse the conductedheat and minimize the part of contact between a hand and the containerwhen the container is held by a hand. Thus, when there is a hot beveragesuch as coffee in the container, heat transfer to the hand is minimized,and the hot beverage can be simply drunk while holding the containerwithout a separate member. Meanwhile, since discharge of the temperatureof the beverage in the container to the outside is prevented and thereis an insulation effect, an appropriate temperature and taste of thebeverage can be maintained for a long time.

The above-mentioned folds 4 in the vertical direction are characterizedby being formed in a body through compression molding instead of acomponent in which the folds are attached to the outside surface orinside surface of the above-mentioned container 1. With formation of theabove-mentioned folds 4 in the vertical direction having an insulationor warmth-retaining function in a body by compression molding, aninsulating member attached to the inside or outside of the container isnot separated by high temperature, and a separate manufacturing processfor attaching the insulating member is not required.

As shown in FIGS. 1-5, the above-mentioned folds 4 in the verticaldirection are formed in a body in only part of the upper side of theoutside surface of the above-mentioned container body 2.

The above-mentioned folds 4 in the vertical direction can be formed onthe entire outside surface of the container body 2; however, since it istypical to hold the upper side rather than the lower side of thecontainer when the disposable container is held, the above-mentionedfolds 4 in the vertical direction can also be formed in a body in onlythe upper side of the outside surface of the container body.

Additionally, in the above-mentioned folds 4 in the vertical direction,cross sections with a shape having protrusions and gaps as shown in FIG.6 are continuously adjoined and form protrusions in a ring shape. Inother words, since the cross section has an arc shape with the sameradius and the container is tapered so that its upper side is wide andits lower side is narrow, the gaps between the protrusions graduallynarrows toward the lower side, and the protrusions contact each other atthe lowermost side, unlike the case where an insulating member isattached to the inside or outside of the container.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described withreferences to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the scope of the inventionencompassed by the appended claims.

1. A disposable insulating container, comprising: a container bodyhaving an open end and a closed end, the closed end formed by acontainer bottom face, the container body being tapered having a wideupper portion and a narrow lower portion; and the container body furthercomprising insulating folds formed in a vertical direction on theoutside surface of the container body.
 2. The container of claim 1,wherein the insulating folds in the vertical direction are formed in theupper portion of the outside surface of the container body.
 3. Thecontainer of claim 1 wherein the insulating folds define, in crosssection, a plurality of alternating protrusions and gaps forming a ringshape.
 4. The container of claim 2 wherein the folds define, in crosssection, a plurality of alternating protrusions and gaps forming a ringshape.
 5. A container, comprising: a container body having an open endand a closed end, the closed end formed by a container bottom face; andthe container body further comprising insulating folds formed in acommon direction on the outside surface of the container body.
 6. Thecontainer of claim 5, wherein the container body comprising an upperportion and a lower portion, the insulating folds being formed in theupper portion on the outside surface of the container body.
 7. Thecontainer of claim 5 wherein the insulating folds are formed in avertical direction on the outside surface of the container body.
 8. Thecontainer of claim 7, wherein the upper portion of the container body iswide and the lower portion of the container body is narrow.
 9. Thecontainer of claim 5, wherein the insulating folds define, in crosssection, a plurality of alternating protrusions and gaps forming a ringshape.
 10. The container of claim 6, wherein the insulating foldsdefine, in cross section, a plurality of alternating protrusions andgaps forming a ring shape.